The Open Championship

[Chilli Dipper]

Is it just me as an American, or are the Brits a tad pretentious in calling the British Open "The Open"?

When this championship was started, there was no need for identifiers.

[f5joe]

Is it just me as an American, or are the Brits a tad pretentious in calling the British Open "The Open"?

As a US citizen, I hope the best man wins. "The Open" is at the home of golf. I certainly respect and honor that. Everything doesn't have to be about where you're from.

jmho

[JWL1957]

Is it just me as an American, or are the Brits a tad pretentious in calling the British Open "The Open"?

Most US Open courses are groomed weeks ahead of time to be artificially tough. If it were not for browning the greens, and growing rough....the courses would be push overs. Very little is done to Open Championship courses prior to the event. I prefer it the way they do it over there.

Are you saying that Peter Thompson, Seve, Faldo, Vardon, Braid, John Henry Taylor were not great? Gary Player has won almost 170 tournaments around the world. Seve has won almost every where on earth as well. Putting the Masters ahead of the Open Championship is a real push IMO. I love the Masters too, but its getting very rare that a bomber doesnt win it. Augusta National is the most artificial course in the USA. Greens have to be cooled and heated with ac/r machinery just to keep them in shape. Considering the population of the USA compared to the UK and other Euro countries..... I would think just by the numbers that we would produce more players. St Andrews is a perfect example of letting the course stand on its own merit. When its calm....... players can go really low. Add a little weather and it turns into a monster. Most of the PGA courses are all about flying the ball. The links courses make you hit all the shots. Alot of the PGA tour guys dont bother going over there to play because they are so pampered with the perfectly manicured courses they play on every week. God forbid that they might have to learn the knock down shot, and the bump and run. Alot of them would wig out with the unlucky bounces they might encounter.

[jamo]

Is it just me as an American, or are the Brits a tad pretentious in calling the British Open "The Open"?

Think: it's 1860. You are Scottish, live in the home of golf (a sport very few other people in the world outside your country even play), and you want to start an open golf tournament for your country. It's a radical idea, something no one has done yet. So you name it The Open Championship. No other country has one, so there is no need to differentiate. No US Open, French Open, Australian Open, none of that. And the name sticks. Why change it? I see zero pretentiousness.

That might be your hierarchy of majors, but I think it's much different, and totally up for discussion. In fact, I would put US Open 1, The Open 2, Masters 3, PGA 4 (and it's a close 4).

[senorchipotle]

Is it just me as an American, or are the Brits a tad pretentious in calling the British Open "The Open"?

1. there are many, many, many more americans who play golf vs. europeans, it's cheaper and access to courses is much easier.

2. most of the greats are american, but none of them started the first open golf tournament in the world. 3. again, the first tournament in the world was not started in the u.s. 4. if the brits did up carnoustie, birkdale, l'pool, etc. like they do american courses with the added wind, they wouldn't be able to putt. combine that with narrower fairways like the u.s., it would become a contest of luck and not skill with no one coming close to par. "I know fully that our power has made others jealous of us... and that the Brits calling the British Open "The Open" is the small man acting big... but please." serious? again, why should they need to change the name of their tournament because others decided to copy them? and please stop with the pompous american ass routine, it's quite embarrassing for the rest of us. and although i'd rather play augusta than anywhere else in the world, i'd rather win the claret jug at the old course than win a green jacket. hell, you don't even get to take your jacket home with you!

[Shorty]

1) Most of the best players in the world are Americans.

Another post staggering in its stupidity. The Brits don't call it THE Open, they call it The Open because it WAS The only Open, as in definite article. It would have been redundant to have called it the British Open. Why should they change its name because other nations, decades later, decided to have their Open?

Of the world top 20, 6 are Americans. In other words, roughly three quarters of the top 20 are not American. Since when did The Masters have the number 1 position in a Majors heirachy? I think you'll find that there are many American professionals who would prefer an Open victory (U.S. or British) to a Masters one. And... I hardly think "(y)our power has made others jealous of us (you)". This seems to be a very common misapprehension; the opposite generally applies, I find, but I am glad to see that there are a lot of American Sandtrappers who are able to prove that they are not like this.

[bplewis24]

I'm predicting Casey makes his push tomorrow.

Well, he did his part, but the guy with the lead didn't come back to the field much. I'm hoping he can pull it off tomorrow. I think he does. He's one of my four favorite golfers.

[bplewis24]

Tiger saying hes not making any putts is getting old. Hes not making them because either hes misreading them or not hitting his line/speed. If he wasnt doing either of these things hed be making a hell of a lot of putts.

So, in other words...he's not making any putts? Interesting. That's exactly what you're saying, what he said, and exactly what's been going on. What is it you have a problem with again?

Brandon

[The Recreational Golfer]

This is the hierarchy of majors:

The hierarchy of golf tournaments is:

1) U.S. Open 2) British Open T5) everything else 3 and 4 are vacant to provide deserved separation. But this is another thread . . .

[Stretch]

And while I'm here (hehe):

Take this from a native South African who speaks Afrikaans and coincidentally grew up next door to an (unrelated) family called Oosthuizen, it's WUHST-high-zen.

Anyway, go Shrek! Wasn't expecting him to hang on there so long. Maybe he can actually pull off a truly rank upset.

[Tex]

Anybody catch Tiger's "off-camera" tirade after his missed putt on 15? He put together a string of F-bombs that would have made a sailor blush.

[soup]

Anyone think Nike has Tiger by the shorthairs with this new Method putter he is using?

Nike is his lone source of major off-course income. Averaging 33 putts per round (32, 32, 35). Crazy he makes that change the week of a major - even if he says he liked the way it comes off "hotter" which he said helps with the slower greens in Scotland.

15+ years, nearly $100 million in earings, 14 majors with the Titleist/Scotty.

[max power]

Anyone think Nike has Tiger by the shorthairs with this new Method putter he is using?

Yeah-seems like the kind of change you make in the off-season.

[Shorty]

Anyone think Nike has Tiger by the shorthairs with this new Method putter he is using?

You would have to be a complete idiot to think this.

Why? Because when he goes back to his SC putter, it will generate as much publicity about him DUMPING the Nike putter after only x number of weeks, which will have all of the Cameron sycophants wetting their pants and have Nike embarrassed. He is trying something different because of the peculiarities of the greens he's putting on this week, and that's it.

[mjtoal]

Anyone think Nike has Tiger by the shorthairs with this new Method putter he is using?

No. Tiger has Nike by the shorthairs. They have an almost billion dollar franchise built largely on him.

He will go back to his Cameron putter if his putting doesn't improve a lot from what it was yesterday.

[Chilli Dipper]

Not much wind out there right now. Somebody in the gaggle of players behind the final group is going very low today.

[James_Black]

Tiger's gone back to his old putter.


maybe he'll do better today.

[Zeph]

Paul Casey may well do it today. Of the top ten, I would think Casey, Westwood and Stenson might do it. Of course, for anyone but the two in the leader group to win, Oosthuizen has to blow up. He is 7 shots in front of number three.

Well, Tiger made his putt on the first. So much for the Method putter.
He's out of it this week, but Tiger's swing is better than it has been for a long time. I would not be surprised if he picks a win on the PGA tour anytime soon.

Are there any interview videos or transcripts out there from this tournament? I'd like to see what the players are saying.